Rise to Power
by TheeWhoLivesInTheWorldOfDreams
Summary: 'Magic pored into her filling her every cell and filling her magical core to the brim. Screaming; her body practically tearing apart from the overload of magic. Her magical core; was pulsing and stretching trying in vain to accommodate the influx of magic.' Lily Evans is known to be a great witch, but how did a muggleborn become the most powerful witch of her age?
1. Chapter 1

**I haven't seen one Merlin fanfic with Lily Evans as the protagonist, she is such a great character and J.K. Rowling doesn't really venture into her life outside of the fact that she is James Potters love. That leaves a lot of space for me to work with while keeping everything cannon, for now anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, rights belong to J. and the BBC**

—

**Prologe **

The hallways of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were silent and Lily liked to think that this was because the students of this school knew better than to walk the halls at night. But considering the amount of detentions she had given out in this past year alone that wasn't likely; which brought up the question: Why she hadn't pulled out any couples from broom-closets nor docked any points from figures lurking in the shadows? From past experience as prefect Lily knew that near the start of summer holidays, after the exams the older students especially run rampant through the corridors regardless of curfew. It only made her job harder as she had to check every corridor and spare room while normally she only had to patrol the main corridors.

A small gust of wind made a shiver go up Lily's spine as she turned around a well hidden corner. Lily thought nothing of it and continued her brisk pace, Hogwarts is so full of magic that a small gust of wind is perfectly normal compared to some of the other thing Lily has seen. But what did cause Lily to pause was the flash of light up ahead that pulsed with contained magic. Lily quickly grabbed her wand and held it in a defensive stance as she cautiously approached the growing light. Any normal person would have turned and ran to a professor but Lily wasn't just anybody; she knew that if this magical light continued to grow it would not be for the good of the schools inhabitants. Lily took her duties very seriously and she would protect Hogwarts; her second home; with everything she had. And Lily was a very powerful witch; she knew this. If anyone could deal with whatever this was, it was Lily Evans.

So she crept forwards, sticking to the shadows only pausing to add a silencing charm to her shoes. Fear and uncertainly gripped at her as the magic levels in the air spiked dramatically making that small wind a powerful force whipping Lily's red hair into her face. The strange and powerful light was like nothing she had ever read about before. Surely something of this power and magnitude would have been recorded somewhere in the library. The magic increased again this was obviously something much too powerful for her, this was something only Dumbledore himself could deal with she didn't have the knowledge or experience to correctly guess at what this is. It didn't seem too dangerous, powerful and enticing, yes; but not dangerous. The magic while plentiful didn't seem to be doing any harm other than cause the wind and bright light.

But Lily was a cautious person so she gripped her wand tightly, "_Expecto Patronum_" a Wild Cat started to form ready to take off the Professor Dumbledore. Before the Cat formed the light shot out in tentacles towards her; the magic seemed to be drawn to her and rushed at her. Lily's eyes barely had time to widen in horror before the magic overtook her form, curling around it and seeping into her skin.

Magic pored into her filling her every cell and filling her magical core to the brim. Screaming; her body practically tearing apart from the overload of magic. Her magical core; the most sensitive part of any creature of the Old Religion; was pulsing and stretching trying in vain to accommodate the influx of magic. The core stretched one more time, more than any of the others, one more and it would tear.

Before that could happen Lily's magic in an attempt to get its host away from this magic, tried to apparate away and out of the castle. This would have worked had it not been for the numerous amounts of wards put in place by not only the Founders but many Headmasters over the past thousand years. These wards made it impossible to apparate on a whim, even with the large amount of power that is now held in Lily's body. So the magic decided if it can't get away from the location maybe it can block the in fluxing magic.

But no, the magic was to much to block while still keeping Lily alive so as one last desperate act of survival flung itself back in time to before the magical light came about; to before the magic in Hogwarts started to build up. To before the school was formed and it was only a castle, a castle which housed a King and a Queen who was about to birth a prince.

Lily's magic sensed that in this particular castle, the magic was healthy; so there was not a chance of a build up of wrongly conducted magic that would be able to create another incident like the one that just happened. So using all of the extra magic of the castle; Lily's magic ripped a pathway for its host to travel through. With a bang the walls seemed to collapse and repair themselves, colours blurred as people rushed past; not that Lily saw this for as soon as the magic stopped flooding her system she passed out in exhaustion.

—-

**Chapter 1 - Lily**

Lily jerked awake with a groan as her back landed on the hard bluestone. Groaning from the throbbing pain originating in her head she cautiously looked around, only to see trees. Lots of trees. "Merlin," Lily exclaimed, "what happened to me?"

She had been doing her nightly patrols, as was her duty at prefect. Lily had in fact never come across anything more dangerous then a couple of teenagers conducting mischief in the cover of darkness. Coming across a magical hotspot had not been on her agenda of the night.

In all her time at Hogwarts she had never even read about such a thing occurring in Hogwarts let alone anywhere else. 'It must have been a very powerful spell that someone cast wrong - or a very powerful ritual,' a little voice whispered in the depths of her mind.

But no, with Dumbledore around no one would dare cast something so dark, so illegal, so enticingly _powerful_. 'Although,' Lily pushed such thoughts back, 'there were some who would.'

Indeed there had been whispers throughout the castle about a gathering force, one who gathered like minded wizards, those who held no love for muggles, such as the Slytherins who came from dark, rich and _pure_ families. Some disregarded the rumours, not noticing such purebloods and even some halfbloods getting more confident, excited as if anticipating a time when they would be as superior as they led themselves to be. Superior over people who held the blood of juggles, people such as Lily.

It was entirely ridiculous because anyone who new Lily could tell that she was hardly inferior to anyone. With her striking looks, her blood red hair and eyes, the same colour as death; even her looks alone could make anyone envious. Lily however had something much more powerful; her mind. Top of the class and delving into powerful magic both forgotten and new, Lily was a force to be reckoned with.

This was why the signs did not pass unnoticed by Lily. In fact, she knew exactly what was happening. Such signs could be seen in the pages of many books; books that told of a time before Grindelward became a known name. Lily was witnessing the rise of a Dark Lord.

This did not bare well for Lily's current predicament. If she had accidentally stumbled into a Dark Lords plan… She was couldn't face a Dark Lord! 'Maybe Dumbledore would come save her,' looking at the unrecognisable trees surrounding her again, she considered, 'or maybe not.'

No one would notice her missing for a while.

—

After walking in what seemed like circles for over three hours, Lily finally admitted to herself that some upcoming Dark Lord had nothing to do with this. There was absolutely no point in getting a Muggleborn witch lost in some random forest. It was much more likely to be Potter and Black's idea of a prank.

They had probably found a spell they didn't understand in the library and it went awfully wrong. Lily may detest the two Gryfindors, but they wouldn't purposely harm her. Especially with dark magic.

It had definitely been dark magic, that she could be at least sure of. Only dark magic could have such power to transport her out of Hogwarts seemingly impenetrable wards. Not to mention the effect the magic had on Lily herself.

For the past few hours she hadn't even attempted to use her wand, the first time she had even touched it her magic recoiled, ready to strike. Lily had never dropped something so quickly. After that she made sure that no bare skin touched it, gently picking it up with her cloak to place it in her leather holster at her waist where it was assured not to come loose and touch her.

To have her faithful wand to spark such a reaction in her magic caused a copious amount of distress in the young witch. Lily's wand wasn't the only thing effected by the faulty magic she had disrupted, although she had only noticed it after the incident with her wand. After stumbling across the, for lack of better word; _portal_, her magic itself had started pulsing as if testing its boundaries causing her entire body to ache.

She had been very aware of how vulnerable she was unable to use her wand, and after walking for so long without food or drink her body was now protesting walking even one more step.

Her inner musings were interrupted by the steady beat of hoofs on the ground. Looking up Lily vaguely noted that she was now slumped against an old oak, just in time to see what looked like Gryffindor knights on horses before she passed out once more.

—

Lily's eyes fluttered open to find herself on a horse surrounded by the knights. "What in Merlin's name…"

"I see you are awake, Milady." The knight behind her spoke "May I ask what bought you to venture into the depths of the Darkling Woods? It is not safe for a young lady to be by herself, you are quite lucky to have been found by my party and not the bandits that inhabit the area."

'What?' Lily seemed to stuck in a cycle of disbelief. 'Knights, bandits, and why were they addressing her as a Lady? What was going on?' All of her previous speculations of what happened to her seemed to be disappearing, as this was certainly not a situation she could have expected.

Actually Lily couldn't even think of one reasonable explanation for her to be on a horse with a knight. It could be a hallucination, a dream, a prank, even a muggle fair. One thing was certain it was a threat to Lily's sanity. It was probably best she stick to questions that could be answered.

"Where am I?" Lily asked.

"We are riding to the citadel, Milady." Replied the knight behind her. "What is your name?"

"Lily, Lily Evans."

"Well Lady Lily, you are safe now." That did not reassure her, nor answer any questions.

"Forgive me for asking, but how do I know I can trust you to protect me from harm when I don't even know who any of you are?"

A knight to her left replied this time. "We are knights of Camelot, the noblest and most talented knights of the land."

He seemed shocked that I didn't know this, but I stopped listening after one word; _Camelot_.

—

**Please review so I can see if people are interested in me continuing this story, I have an idea of a trilogy that would be based before Merlin, Marauders Era and during OotP. Let me know.**

**xoxo Living Dreams**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Everybody, **

**I hope this is a good chapter but I'm still in high school and I can't claim to have done anything more than short stores for school. I would really appreciate any feedback about the development of characters, plot line and my writing style. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or Harry Potter**

—

**Chapter 2 - Camelot **

"King Uther is a good king, fair but stern, and he loves his wife; the Queen Ygraine. They are expecting a newborn prince or princess soon. The entire kingdom is rejoicing. Our court physician Gaius says that the baby is healthy and there should be no complications in the birth."

Gorlois, as Lily had discovered the knights name to be, was very excitable for someone in their late twenties, able to chat on about anything and everything. Lily actually thought that Gorlois was doing it for her benefit, informing her of the going ons in Camelot and putting her at ease.

It was not working. Lily had been in a state of shock since she realised what had happened. Somehow she was in Camelot, a kingdom lost in times long ago. The Camelot; one of the most magical kingdoms ever seen, led by King Arthur and the Court Sorcerer, Merlin. Camelot was a city of legend and Lily was travelling there.

After an hour of doubt Lily no longer truly believed that the knights were tricking her, they couldn't have faked their bewilderment at her disbelieving statement that Camelot had not been seen, nor heard of for a thousand years.

So here she was on a horse in front of King Uther's best knight, Gorlois on her way to Camelot. From what she had gleamed from Gorlois' rambling King Arther was yet to claim the thrown, or maybe he had already died. Lily wasn't sure how far she had travelled in time. She also ignored such thoughts as time travelling thousands of years; because _obviously_ such thing was impossible. She was probably looking through the eyes of someone that lived thousands of years ago. 'Which was also impossible.' She noted.

"… and our Court Sorceress Nimueh was quite displeased with his progress in the Magical Arts…"

Gorlois' voice continued to prattle on in the background. Introducing new people on a whim talking about three different topics at once, really he was just confusing her. From what Lily could gather, Nimueh, a powerful witch, (sorceress?) was apprenticing a young man who turned out to be a disappointment, meanwhile a King in a neighbouring kingdom was having disagreements with the Queen Ygraine about some materials that she wanted imported for her upcoming child. Then there was a couple of knights, Sir Tristan and Sir Hunter had got themselves caught in a drunken scandal. It was very confusing.

"Excuse me Sir Gorlois"

"Yes Lady Lily?" He tilted his head while smiling quite goofily.

"I was in a magical accident that transported me away from my home and I don't have any money, food or clothes." Hesitantly adding, "I am really in need of some help."

Sounding more serious this time Gorlois spoke. "We gathered that you had been in a bit of trouble from how we found you, my knights and I were planning to bring you to Gaius, you worried us Lady Lily. Although if you say the problem is magical we may need to bring you to Alice or Nimueh."

"Thank you, so very much for your help, Sir Gorlois. I had been wondering those woods for hours when you found me."

With a grateful smile that he returned I went back to looking at the path. The silence was calming. They continued in silence the rest of the way until Camelot was in site.

"Welcome, Lady Lily… to Camelot"

The castle looked similar to Hogwarts in some ways though much younger and with several levels and towers missing. The castle was made of smooth white stone and bustling with life.

Traveling through the town reminded her of her first trip to Diagon Alley. It was if she had entered into another world, maybe she had. Children ran along the streets playing games stopping to great them as they past. Maids travelled with their hands full, busy in their tasks. Looking into a shop she even saw a blacksmith.

Gorlois continued to point out sites as they past them adding in a few anecdotes to fill in the strange tension that had filled her at the site of medieval England. Camelot turned out to be a bit of a let down yet also more then she had expected. There weren't any magical stores like she had expected. Surely it was just hidden like Diagon Alley.

The lack of magical signs didn't stop her from admiring the other sites though. The training knights' swords clashed as they fought. An intricate and deadly dance that with one misstep could come to a fatal end. She couldn't help ask Gorlois as such; only to get a laughing answer that all swords were blunted.

Coming to the base of the communal courtyard she was met with the site of the King. He was young, probably late twenties early thirties and had a small smile on his face.

"Gorlois! My friend, it is so good to see you again," King Uther spoke looking straight at the knight behind her, only flicking her eyes over her once, "I see you have picked up someone unexpected on your journey."

"Ah yes, we found Lady Lily hurt from a magical accident. I had hoped that she could seek refuge here…" looking hesitantly at the King, Gorlois continued, "if Lady Lily has come across a new threat or was effected magically by it I think she may have to see Nimueh and Alice."

More interested now King Uther looked at Lily appraisingly. "You can stay in the guest wing while we sort out what has happened to you." He turned but stopped midway, "Which kingdom to you hail from? I may have heard of your family."

What exactly could she say to that, England? Cokeworth? Scotland? Hogwarts? Lily very much doubted he had heard of the Evans family. But he was still looking at her expectantly. She could pretend to be a peasant but from the way she had been treated so far it was obvious they believed her to be a nobel.

"I am Lily Evans, I am a part of the Brave and Most Noble House of Gryffindor. I am from Hogwarts, in my kingdom their are four major houses; Gryffindorwho's members values bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry. Hufflepuff who value hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play. Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge, and wit; and Slytherin values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness."

It seemed to please King Uther as his smile became less strained and more welcoming. "A brave and noble Lady indeed. You are welcome Lady Lily of Hogwarts, to stay as long as you wish. You are an honoured guest. I have not heard of your kingdom, you must be very far from home."

Lily just smiled, unsure of what else she could do. Gorlois soon helped her down from the horse and led her through the castle.

Later sitting on a lush and expensive bed she wondered what in Merlin's name she had got herself into. She was pretending to be not only from this time but a noble lady from a distant land. Lily was actually pretty sure such thing could be punishable by death.

—

Entering the banquet hall in her newly clean robes she surveyed the room to realise that the table was smaller then expected. Seated at the table was King Uther, a Lady she assumed was the Queen Ygraine from her small crown; and a dark haired striking young women who reeked of magic; all of whom looked up to great her.

Unsure of what to do Lily stood a few feet from the table. "Please have a seat, don't be shy. You are an honoured guest." Spoke the queen, gesturing towards an empty seat.

Nodding with a grateful reply she sat next to the dark haired witch. "I apologise if my manners are not up to standard, what I am used to in my kingdom is very different to what I have seen here."

Waving off her apology King Uther started the introductions, it was no surprise to find the dark haired witch was the Court Sorceress Nimueh. Her magic was so potent that it satiated the very air around her. Lily was actually in awe of her.

When introduced Nimueh smiled as if she shared a secret with Lily. Maybe they did.

After the introductions Gorlois arrived late, out of his armour it was all the more obvious that he was very handsome. Winking at her while apologising for his tardiness he sat down across from her.

The meal while not as delicious as a Hogwarts meal was probably the best Camelot had to offer. However the conversation was of the most value to Lily. Explaining what led her to land in the Darkling Woods, omitting several details and the strange effect the strange magic had on her own.

While all seemed generally interested in what she had to say, only Nimueh didn't look worried, more excited than anything although the emotion was hard to place.

After a few minutes of silence Nimueh rather abruptly broke it with a mischievous smirk. "So Lady Lily, how long have you been a practitioner of the Old Religion?"

"I actually haven't heard of the Old Religion, I'm sorry."

Apparently her honest confusion was not what she had expected. "Your magic is very apparent, you must have been practicing for a long time to reach such a level of power. You can not expect me to believe that you have never heard of the Old Religion…" Nimueh raised an eyebrow.

"I have never heard of magic being called the Old Religion" Lily swallowed, "In Hogwarts there was a school for those with the ability to wield magic, we were taught from the age of eleven for seven years in various fields in magic. However after the incident that bought me here my magic has been…" Pondering on the right word she continued, "different. I can not even hold my wand."

"Why did you not say you were a sorceress before now?" Gorlois said before being interrupted by Nimueh.

"A school for magic? That is indeed a very interesting idea. But what may I ask is a wand?"

Looking between the two a little bemused Lily hesitantly answered. "I did not announce my status as a witch because it did not come up in conversation and a wand is how all wizards and witches at Hogwarts learn to cast spells."

Using her cloak Lily unholstered her wand and held it out to Nimueh. Taking it in her hands and examining it from all angles with an intrigued expression.

"This is a focus, a very powerful one unlike any I have ever seen. It is tuned to one magical signature, I assume the Lady Lily's. It makes ones magic more powerful, therefor one would be able to cast more spells for longer." Now she was grinning.

"But as I said, it no longer works for me. It worked perfectly before the accident but the strange magic did something to me and every time I touch it now it rejects me." A mutter under her breath, "I've had that wand since I learnt I was a witch."

"Your magic has changed since you came across the," a pause, "wild magic."

"Yes, it feels differ-"

"Lady Lily, High Priestess Nimueh; why not discuss this in the morning." Queen Ygraine interrupted them.

"Sorry Milady." The Queen waved off her apology.

The dinner finished in more appropriate conversation. Lily left with a full stomach, a high spirit and a promise of seeing Nimueh again tomorrow.

—

As the weeks past Lily got used to living in Camelot, but some things Lily had a hard time adapting to. The first time she asked her personal maid where to find a bathroom she felt quite shocked to be pointed at a small pan. Even weeks later she couldn't help the dread every time she had to use it.

Getting appointed a maid was just another thing Lily was uncomfortable about, but it was expected that as the Lady of Gryffindor house she would have had several maids in her lifetime. So she put on what she hoped was a unsurprised smile and welcomed the pretty brunette. Lily was glad that Leah was around her age and not an older lady that she couldn't relate to, having a maid at all was strange, let alone an older lady. Thankfully Leah had been very helpful in making sure Lily felt comfortable around her and after a few weeks Lily would call her a friend.

With the help of Gorlois, who was quickly becoming her best friend in Camelot, and a quite Leah to the side, Lily had been shown all around town in a quest to make Lily feel as if she belonged. Gorlois as it turned out was not only a knight, but was also a rich lord that owned vast lands to the East; he was also quite generous when it came to helping a '_lost maiden in need_' as he so proclaimed.

Lily had discovered this when she was sternly escorted into a tailer to have a few garments made especially for her. Kindly putting an end to her protests Gorlois just told her that he had become fond of her in the weeks he had known her. Lily, flattered had meekly thanked him.

Her newfound friendship with the Knight and her maid was not the only thing that kept Lily from being board as her talk with Nimueh on her second day soon became a bi-weekly event. Lily found herself fascinated by all she had to say and her knowledge of magics lost to the world Lily came, from was vast and in-depth. Lily found that she was learning more magic, if only the theory of, then she ever had at Hogwarts.

Within two months of Lily arriving in Camelot she had started to miss Hogwarts less as she became accustomed to the ancient city. That wasn't to say Lily did not miss her friends and family; she did. At Hogwarts Lily was popular with nearly all the students and teachers, she was one of the most powerful students to ever pass through its halls and she was admired for it. She missed that, here hardly anyone knew who she was, apart from some whispers of a Lady from a far land getting into an accident. They didn't know what she had accomplished, all she had been through to be recognised as more than just another muggleborn witch.

Gorlois seemed to take it upon himself to be a best friend to Lily. She found that she viewed him as the big brother she didn't know she had wanted. Leah also tried to be a good friend, but Leah couldn't claim to know Lily well enough for them to be very close.

Only Nimueh seemed to understand Lily's drive to learn more magic. Nimueh as the Court Sorceress was often busy with her official duties to the King so Lily couldn't talk to her as often as she would like.

After a passing servant had directed her towards the library filled with tomes of magic were Lily had never smiled so widely. Until she realised they weren't in English. Lily would have to grudgingly rely on Nimueh's teaching to learn how to wield magic once more.

—

More often than not the bi-weekly talks became real lessons rather then just conversations that Lily happened to learn things from. As Nimueh led her towards a small room in a vacant tower Lily had an amusing visual of a Professor McGonagall with her purposeful strides and tight mouth.

She couldn't have been more right, Nimueh, or as she had secretly started calling her, Professor Nimueh, was both strict and fair. The dark haired witch was quick to dispel any false information about magic that Lily had learned at Hogwarts. Which turned out to be a lot.

The Old Religion had more to do with magic then Lily first thought. It wasn't just a religion, a make believe deity to pray to. The Old Religion was tangible, and it was _magic_. Pure _magic_. At Hogwarts magic was accepted as a right not a blessing. Magic was a gift given by the Triple Goddess and should be treated as such.

According to Nimueh more people are misusing their powers and taking advantage of them, disregarding the fact that each magical being owes their power to the higher beings. By Lily's time the knowledge of the Old Religion was long gone. Whether the knowledge had simply gone out of style, was lost or even taken in revenge was anyones guess. Lily did not care either way.

The few times that Nimueh had demonstrated a particular spell they had been discussing Nimueh's magic had acted in a way Lily had never seen. Like anything else in the world, magic evolved with time due to different circumstances.

When Lily shared this theory, Nimueh agreed it was possible that maybe the reason Lily couldn't touch her wand was because her magic had changed from Hogwart's modern style of magic to the more tradition sort that came from these lands. Lily assumed she was under the impression that Hogwarts was so far away geographically, that the magic evolved differently. Nimueh didn't know how wrong she was.

—

**Feedback is always welcome ;D**


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